SPECIAL SESSION: Use of Caring Theory in Culture and Context in Scotland and Cameroon

Description/Overview: This session includes two sub-sessions regarding how caring science theory was selected and used in two different cultures and context. The first sub-session will review how Swanson’s theory of caring was a better fit for the culture of Scotland than was Watson’s theory. The second sub-session will review how Watson’s theory of caring science was used to assess the farming needs of women living with AIDS a village in Cameroon, Africa The first portion of this session will review how two different theories of caring were tested for the purpose of developing a caring science model of research that was appropriate for the context of Scotland. Theoretical models that fit the context are important to minimize error in data and maximize the ability to implement findings operationally in clinical care. This presentation will review how Watson’s and Swanson’s theory in caring science were both tested and how a decision was made to use Swanson’s theory for examining caring science in an acute care hospital in Scotland. Central within the discussion was the discussion of measuring spirituality within the construct of caring. Results will identify how measures and interventions related to caring science must match the culture. The final model that used Swanson’s theory and addressed spiritual needs of the patient population will be presented. Presenters of this session were asked by an international agronomy research group to assist with innovative ways to assess food sustainability in vulnerable populations. A village in Cameroon, comprised of women living with AIDS, was selected to evaluate how caring science could be used to not only assess the farming needs, but to assess if caring might enhance their CD4 counts. A pilot study was conducted, using Watson’s 10 concepts of caring, to assess needs related to farming and food sustainability within the village. This presentation will review the results from the pilot study, the process of implementing findings from pilot study and plans for ongoing interventions and research to support these women who are living with AIDS in Cameroon.